johnson the rat's been warning me to update because he's on the verge of drowning the waterbaby. take a chill pill, shireen's been busy!! she blames it on the super-addictive 24 (please don't watch it if you have a life). but she also blames it on her rushing assignments, cooking to fill her perpetually-growling tummy, planning trips as travelling ranks high in priority, chatting because she misses you and you and you, watching a drunk guy try to pick up eugene and dias at the oldest bar in dunedin and oh yea, driving to queenstown to bungy and river-sledge, braving all sorts of climates to pay homage to the incredible milford sound and getting lost in the hugest maze in the world and lying down on benches and boardwalks and rocks against the backdrop of mountains and blue skies under a thin ozone layer where the sun turned her into crisp at wanaka amongst many other things. so give her a break will ya???

(but anyway, there's always shanny's blog!)

it was quite a mad rush as we were leaving for queenstown because i was watching as much of 24 as i could to the last second before we had to leave and i had to go fetch everyone. i'm feeling so lazy i don't feel like posting up every single detail of the trip. so...i'll just talk about a few things.

thursday, 4th oct 2007: dunedin - queenstown

we left for queenstown on thursday evening. in my car were johnson and bavani, the two littles sickies, while shanny and gavin tagged along in dias' car. the drive there was really beautiful and the dark clouds added to the darkly mysterious ambience that enshrouded the route. somehow, the grey skies make the grass greener and the mountains and rocks a bolder grey. there is a certain stillness in the car but you know out there, everything is subject to the whims and fancies of nature. and if i can put a finger on it, that's what i love about new zealand, amongst many other things. people make way for nature. we have to build around it, walk around it, drive around it. those mountains and hills that have existed for thousands of years, the temperamental weather, the raging white waters, the unpredictable and forceful avalanches, the volcanoes who choose to wake from their slumber whenever they feel like...you know what i mean. and i think it's really commendable how kiwis take extra good care of these treasures and try their best to preserve them.

after 4 to 5 hours of driving with a pit-stop at alexandra in between where we had a nice outdoor dinner by the river, we arrived at pinewood lodge in queenstown where we immediately set off from to end up at minus 5, a bar made out of ice. i'm not kidding. everything in the bar was made out of ice except the floor. the seats, the tables, the sculptures, the bar, the glasses. i ordered some peachy thing with vodka served in an ice-glass and it tasted soooo good! it's just funny how we put on these coats, got ushered into the bar (just the 6 of uss and our very own bartender), took alot of photos, tried to dance to some music, crashed our glasses into a bin (that's how we were told to dispose of them) and were out in half an hour. something really strange about that.

i was really tired, having slept at 5am the day before (or rather, the same day, don't ask why) and yet i couldn't recover my sleep debt properly (the story of my sleeping-life for the days to come) because, lets just say, i'm a light sleeper and it takes time for me to knock out.


friday, 5th oct 2007: queenstown - milford sound - queenstown

next morning (friday), we headed off to milford sound, johnson, bavani, shanny and me. the sky looked alright in queenstown but a while later in the midst of our journey, these looming dark clouds greeted us and refused to take a hike, taking a piss on us from time to time. can't say i complained much though. 1. i'm used to getting assaulted by all sorts of weather in just two layers of clothing by now. 2. it made everything alternate between looking like we were in narnia and the lost world and middle earth. at times, it snowed, at times it rained. one moment, we're beside a lake in te anau with moutain ranges as the backdrop. and another, we're on the plains of mosburn where the winds are so strong the branches of trees are perpetually pointed in one direction. and if we're not in those places, we are somewhere in the middle of jungles that make you feel not far from the amazon or between snow-covered fjords with (countless!!) waterfalls trickling down the sides of the steep and unbelievably huge mountains (the expanse is breath-taking i'm not exagerating, it makes you feel sooooo small and overwhelmed, just how i like it) and the threat of avalanches being very real. our guide, big D (i told him i'd remember him as the guide with the best music selection to which he replied that was a really long name), had to stop the coach from time to time to fit on chains and then take them off because the temperamental weather kept changing (i think the weather is like a guy with andropause). being in new zealand is your geography classroom expanded to a billion times its size and talk about hands-on, the world is your lab. you can be a doctor, a farmer, a barber, a housewife, a porn star, but you can't not learn something here and be amazed. you are a part of it and maybe, even at mercy to it. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hail, snow storms...the threats are real and can happen anytime because the earth is so alive here, and because of that, more beautiful than ever. how is it that every corner you turn, in the remotest of areas, in your own backyard, that may be the mountains, lakes, sea cliffs, you find a surprise always waiting for you? a part of this earth, a part of life you've never seen before? and even more astounding is the fact that while you only just discovered it, it has been there for generations after generations. your life is just a mere speck compared to its own. and if you find yourself silent in its presence, rightly so you should be as you venerate creation and the creator who makes himself known through it.

if you think i'm meandering from the post, well, meandering is part of the plan here when i travel. the meandering which brings inspiration, thrills the spirit and makes the heart sing, cry, laugh, rage and soar. now, lets meander back to milford sound.

we had to kill one hour at milford sound(what will we do without google and wiki? seriously.) as our ferry was delayed. i was so bored i read every exhibit and looked at every picture at the visitor centre. we had a nice view while waiting though. you never run out of fantastic treats for the eyes over here. because of the dark weather, there were countless of waterfalls once again. after gulping my roll down hungrily, i ventured to the top open-air deck, braving the wind and the occasional rain. i love to stand on the decks of ships, especially in slightly rocky waters; it makes me feel like i'm on an adventure (if you ask me, most of the adventures are in my head but this is how i make my own fun haha). i found a spot for one right in the middle at the front of the ship which even had a space for me to sit and planted myself there for almost the rest of the ride, greeting each new waterfall and cliff and valley head-on. i took countless of photos to capture the moments but looking back, they all look the same but don't feel quite the same. there was a bunch of american tourists hovering near me and they were saying the most ridiculous things which made me laugh ("and on your right is fall 6281" or "and from here on, that fall will be called, 'bob-the-pain-in-the-ass falls'"), but also made me wish that i was on a kayak alone paddling through this misty, mysterious fjord. actually, ever since the day i saw the scene of the man kayaking in milford sound alone on lonely planet months ago, that has been one of my dreams; to do the same. i wonder whether i ever will get that chance to.

another endearing thing about this fjord is that you can find penguins, seals and even dolphins here. the weather was bad though but i think i caught a glimpse of a baby seal or baby dolphin, i will never know.

towards the end, the ferry neared a waterfall on the way back. and we insisted on going as near as possible to it, sacrificing our cameras, our minimal layers of clothing and for some of us, our already poor health to photo-whore. we ended up with a bunch of really misty, wet photos with really drenched and cold people as the subjects.

we slept almost all the way back to queenstown and were welcomed home by a really heartening meal cooked by dias and gavin, god bless you guys!! i remember bursting through the doors, shouting "i love you!!!" to the guys upon seeing the food and then trying to avoid looking at the other guests whose presence i just took notice of after that. cheers to another sleepless night, though i was so tired, i knocked out amidst the uncoordinated symphony at one point.

saturday, 6th oct 2007: queenstown - wanaka

another early start to the day, breakfast more rushed as each day passes, i still don't have the capacity to gulp down hot coffee in a few seconds and with an unwilling heart, emptied the remainder into the sink. dias, johnson and i then proceeded to "the station" to register for our bungy jumps. johnson did the kawarau one alone though i kept trying to persuade him to do the nevis highwire, the highest one in new zealand, with dias and me. he wouldn't budge though, he's a stubborn rat.

the moment we reached the nevis place, i was wondering why the hell i ever signed up. just thinking about it the past few days, weeks was frightening enough, the part between staying and jumping into nothingness. how do you stand on that ledge and keep your eyes open? and then, how do you jump off from it after that, by yourself? we started off by putting on our harnesses and were then carted off in a little cable-car thingy (the scariest one i've ever taken, it's open air which means if u lean too far, u can fall out and that's why we need harnesses to ride in it, and if you move too much in it, it could stop in the middle and it would take alot of effort and according to our guide, $10,000 to come fetch us) to the bungy platform suspended in the middle of two cliffs, 134m over the nevis river below. i can't explain to you the fear i was feeling, just looking down and looking at the ledge i would be jumping off from and looking at the view beyond that ledge. the first person jumped, then the second and everytime they left the ledge, my heart would skip a beat. third person, oh that's me. each penguin step (because of the way our legs were harnessed together) i took to the ledge was accompanied with a rising fear within me. i finally reached it and looked out and was told to look back and smile for some photos (yes, when my feet are at the tip of this ledge, i don't know how i managed to smile even). "1, 2, go!" and i jumped and i screamed like i probably never have, my arms outstretched, my eyes looking forward and suddenly i was going down, down, down and the screaming stopped to give way for silence as the realisation hit me, i did it. and as i bounced around at the bottom, i was smiling to myself like a crazy goon. as they pulled me back up, i just sat on my harness and took a look around, reveling at the fact that i did it, reveling at hanging there alone, reveling at the raindrops falling in slow motion (they really look different from there). and then i was up and when i was able to put my feet onto the platform, i realised my legs were totally shaking. was it because of the cold? was it because of the intensity of the moments before? i don't know. but how apt that during the whole time, there was a full rainbow just infront of us. rainbows are like free here, just like the mountains and the rivers; you don't need to go looking for them.

dias jumped last. you know him, he craves challenge, adventure, thrills, anything that forces him to the extremes. here i am thinking about how i'm ever gonna jump off that ledge and there he is thinking about what to shout on the way down (he decided to shout "yee-ha") and what actions to do (when he jumped of the aukland tower, he looked like a frog swimming in the sky). there were 6 of us that morning, 5 jumpers and 1 spectator. it was a nice, cosy group and everyone was really supportive of each other. we took a photo together to mark this short journey together.


you can watch the video here! i look genuinely afraid and and at one point, i'm walking like a cross between a geisha and a penguin! and turn down your speakers! don't say i didn't warn you.



by the time we got back to queenstown, i was starving (i'm always hungry these days, even now!). johnson recounted to us his amusing bungy experience as we headed to fernburger (he claims he loves me, he as in fernburger la, not johnson the mean rat) where i gobbled down the hugest burger i've ever eaten. tried venison, never really tried it before. tasted quite good, and the thai sweet chilli sauce probably contributed to its yumminess. they called it "sweet bambi". we finally met up with the rest of them who went for a long morning hike to the gondolas and dias, shanny, gavin and i headed off for river-sledging while bavani and johnson went jet-boating.

river-sledging gave me the workout of my life, and we did it twice. i totally sucked i tell you. i just couldn't get the hang of swimming in flippers and ended up looking like a dysfunctional frog most of the time, totally unglam. because of the weird eddy currents and whatever other currents, i kept being sucked away into places i didn't wanna be in and the guides had to keep swimming over to save me. my crazy kicking (dias couldn't understand why i was kicking so hard and fast haha) didn't help either and kept pulling me back instead. i take my hat off to the guides, their fitness level and skills in tackling those currents and saving my life and others at the same time, impeccable. i think i'll never do this again, at least until i know how to swim well with flippers. gavin claims he drank 2 litres of water. dias was like a happy frog. shanny was like a towel in tumble-dry. as i told shanny, this was a day of many firsts for me. bungy, river sledging, drinking hot orange juice (which tasted good surprisingly and helped to warm us down) and going commando style teeheehee. i don't mean to sound kinky but it's become so normal to do everything in public now. pee outdoors, change outdoors, you really get the hang of living it wild here. i love it. and i don't feel so conscious anymore, at least not conscious enough to retard my experiences.

after a quick illegal shower, we headed off for some heavenly hot chocolate. i had the dark chocolate one. someone had lavender, i think dias. i felt like i was drinking aromatherapy. go there if you want to drink delicious water.

random picture in queenstown. no matter how random, there's always a good view to boot! not just the subject in the photo la! focus! haha. ;)

isn't this picture so goondoo?? i love it! good job, bav!!

we finally headed off to wanaka, and by then i was so exhausted. johnson drove and i just relaxed and enjoyed the amazing view on the way and serenaded bav and johnson together with my ipod. it was really an amazing drive there. the good views are just for free. you can pee while looking at them, have a sandwich and look at them, randomly stop somewhere for a drink and you'll still see them. as long as your eyes are open. we finally reached wanaka where we had an amazing dinner at a seafood restaurant. thinking about it now makes me hungry all over again. dias, johnson and i shared the seafood platter for two. it was more than enough and i was a very happy girl. shanny had the most interesting looking dish. a special thank you to johnson and bavani for helping me to locate a church to go for mass the next day. i had the most amazing sleep that night (just us three girls and the amazing sound of silence amidst the pouring rain) albeit a bit too short.

dias' car peeps. shanny, dias, gavin.

my car kakis till wanaka. johnson, shireen, bavani. (johnson, beware!)

sunday, 7th oct 2007: wanaka - dunedin

managed to wake up for mass. in my really tired state, it was still great being there. the eucharist on my left, the lake wanaka and the mountains on my right. met up with the others at i-site and we really had no idea what to do because it was too windy for water activities. we decided to head off first to puzzling world. we started off by going through this giant maze. something about the new zealand sun, it's just too piercing. it doesnt make you sweat but the ozone layer is really thin here, literally. this, coupled with the fact that i was starving, and also coupled with the fact that i was roaming around in that maze for the longest time ( must have walked like hell), i was knackered by the end of it. we proceeded inside for more puzzling discoveries and i was most amazed by the mirrors room where you felt you were falling uphill and the laws of gravity were broken. far from it really, gravity was working just as it should. illusions were as well.

after a really puzzling morning, we headed off for lunch. we chose to sit outside braving wind and sun under perfectly blue skies. i gobbled down my baked potato and bacon and milkshake and we went wandering around, still unsure about what to do. i just knew i wanted to sleep. badly. by then, i was feeling sooooo exhausted and dehydrated. i don't know why. but we ended up taking a looong walk by the lake. whenever we stopped, i promptly sought out a place to take a power nap on. the water looked so shioook i tell you. i wish i could have jumped in, so clear and inviting. i watched a documentary where the host was invited to drink the water straight from lake wanaka because it was sooo clean. i didn't get a chance to though. i didn't wanna drink the water nearer the shore. chicken, chicken. whatever. haha.

after that, because there really wasn't much else to do, shanny and i proceeded back to dunedin while the others headed on to fox glaciers. we didn't make one stop and ended up in dunedin by 745, making a bee-line straight for japanese food at minami where i struggled very hungrily with a very bony fish. i knocked out that night. it was all good. next up, horse-riding, taieri gorge trainride and catlins! but for now, it's back to the books, if the serials don't swallow me up first.

papa, mama, don't worry, i'm finishing my assignments on time and studying! =p jeevan, study hard, you can do it! i know it! aunty, can't wait to eat your mee goreng! pravin, looking forward to our roadtrip as well!! love you guys! =)

=)